Etymograph

English

tureen

Tureen comes from French terrine ‘terrine (dish)’, from terre ‘earth’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-1‘dry’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tersos2uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*terzos2uncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*terzeznos2uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterrēnus3‘earthly’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*terrinus3reconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400terrin3uncertain
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentterre3‘earth’uncertain
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentterrine1‘terrine (dish)’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1983tureen1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tureen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin terrenus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French terrine
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1983, Gillian Wilson: “The tureens and stands are variously marked with the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-Wiktionary, English tureen‘dry’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tersosWiktionary, Latin terrenusuncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*terzosWiktionary, Latin terrenusuncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*terzeznosWiktionary, Latin terrenusuncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterrēnusWiktionary, French terrine‘earthly’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*terrinusWiktionary, French terrinereconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400terrinWiktionary, French terrineuncertain
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentterreWiktionary, French terrine‘earth’uncertain
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentterrineWiktionary, English tureen‘terrine (dish)’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1983tureenWiktionary, English tureen. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1983, Gillian Wilson: “The tureens and stands are variously marked with the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’

test, territory, inter, toast, territorial, terrace, thirst, terra, terrier, torrent, torrid, fossa, fosse, terroir, 41 more

through Proto-Italic *terzos

terrestrial

through Latin terrēnus ‘earthly’

terrain, 1 more

through French terrine ‘terrine (dish)’

terrine

Today it means

noun A broad, deep serving dish used for serving soup or stew.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tureen”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin terrenus, French terrine. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ters- / tureen

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